Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-04-09
A BLOODY DEED.
ATTEMPT OF A CHINAMAN TO
MURDER A FAMILY.
The Mother Instantly Killed A
Hired Man Fatally Wounded, and
Shots Fired at the Children.
ESPECIAL BY TELEGRAPH TO THE RrcoRD-uMoN.I

facts connected Will luc lHuIuel VI MIS-
Billion, and find them as follows About $50
O'Clock last evening one of the most fiend-
ish crimes ever committed in Northern
California was perpetrated on the ranch of
Joseph Billion, about one mile from st.
John and eleven miles west of this place.
Mr.. Billion was not at home, having gone
TO San Francisco few days ago. Seated
at the supper table were Mrs. Billion, aged
about so years, her daughter Annie, aged
% years, a younger daughter, aged IA, and
a hired man, William Weaver. Directly
back of Weaver was a door leading to the
kitchen. The four were quietly partaking
of their evening meal. The mother and
daughters were chatting pleasantly, never
dreaming that in another instant the mo-
ther was to be launched into eternity. The
door behind Weaver was quietly opened,
the report of a rife was heard and Weaver
fell from his chair His left arm was
shattered, and the ball entered his back,
coming out through his breast, just above
the heart. Mrs. Billion sprang to her feet,
and saw their Chinese cook, who had been
with them five years, with rifle to his
shoulder,
AND FELL DEAD,
A bullet passing through her body directly
through her heart, and purying itself deep
in the decreasing behind her. Death was
instantaneous-withou struggle, without
a groan, without a moments warning, she
fell to the floor, the blood gushing forth in
streams, and uniting with that of WeaVer's
to make large pool upon the floor. All
this was the work of en- instant. Weaver
was not killed, as the Chinaman evidently
supposed, and Immediately after the shot
which instantly took the life of Mrs. Billion
he managed to reach out from where he
lay on the floor and closed the door and
turned the key in the lock. The China
man evidently thought he had killed
Weaver, and was somewhat surprised
to find the door closed in his
face. He fired a shot through the
door, then took an ak and smashed
in panel, and no doubt would have car
ried out his intention of a wholesale mas
sacre, had not Weaver resorted to stratagem
and frightened the murderer away by ex-
claiming,
HERE COMES CHARLIE PAPsT,
And ne will kill the Chinaman w Fearing
his retreat would be cut off, the Chiraman
departed. After the lape of two or three
minutes Weaver told Annie to look out and
see in which direction the Chinaman was
going. Annie put her head out of the
window and caught glimpse Of the China
man taking off his slippers and putting on
q pair of boots. He saw her, and at the
same instant raised his rifle and sent bull
let crashing through the window, the
splinters wounding her face. While the
Chinaman was battering down the door the
youngest girl escaped from a window on
the opposite side of the building and ran for
life toward the village of st. John for as
sistance.
When the Chinaman discovered that she
had escaped he beat hasty retreat toward
the river which is about one mile east of
the farmhouse. When the youngest girl
returned with a crowd of neighbors, a few
moments later,
THEY BEHELD CHASTITY SPECTACLE,
Mrs. Billion lying dead upon the floor in a
large pool of blood; Mr.. Weaver, faint,
weak and almost dead from loss of blood (;
Annie crazed with grief. The dining
room-which a few moments before was
the scene of merriment-had all the ap-
pearances of a slaughter-house. The news
spread like wildfre. 1t was telephoned to
Chico and telegraphed to Colusa and in
less than two hours hundreds of citizens
were securing the country in search of the
murderer, and if they had found him no
tsial by jury would have been necessary,
as his worthless carcass would have been
hung to the nearest tree and riddled with
bullets.
About o'clock-two hours after the
shooting-Dr. H. F. Clarke left for the
scene and rendered Mr.. Weaver all the
help possible. Mr. Weaver's wounds are
of such serious nature that death is
liable to result at any time from internal
hemorrhage, and his ante-mortem state
ment was advised and taken.
No one seems to know what motive the
Chinaman had in planning this wholesale
murder. It is generally believed that his
intention was to murder the entire family
and then set fire to the premises in order
to cover up his bloody deed.
THE ONLY APPARENT CAUSE FOR IT Is PURE
oUssEDNEss.
Yesterday Mrs. Billion was house-clean-
ing, and made the Chinaman assist in tax
ing up carpets and moving furniture, job
he did not seem to relish. He was cross,
sullen and ill-natured about it, and in
order to get even sought to take the lives
of the entire party.
About three hours before the murder,
while in conversation with Miss Anuie,
he asked her what the Courts would do
with him if he murdered some one. She
replied that he would be hung by the
nothing of the question, as she had no rea-
son TO fear him. The theory of robbery is
secuted, because nothing was taken. This,
however, might have been his intention,
and abandoned when he discovered that
one of his intended victims had escaped TO
the village.
DONE IL A FIT OF ANGER.
The general opinion of the girls, the
wounded man and neighbors is that the
hellish deed was committed in fit of
anger. The murderer's name is Ho All
Heung. He is is years of age, short and
stoutly built, and speaks English fluently.
He has been in the family as domestic
since be was u years of age, and the
woman shom he so brutally murdered had
always treated him with consideration and
kindness. In searching the Chinaman's
cabin, which stood a short distance from
the house, Constable P Hunt found pho
tograph of him taken two years ago. A
large number OF nude photographs of Chico
prostitutes were also found in his trunk,
together with a revolver, sheath-knife and
number of cartridges.
ON HIS TRAIL.